kosydar

I never thought she was funny, but watching Curb Your Enthusiasm changed my mind.

Its nice to see many of the struggling Leafs play well as of late, namely Stempniak, Grabo, Blake, Komisarek, and Kulemin. Gus has the ability to make big saves early on that keep the Leafs in the game, something we haven't had this year. I'm not saying he is a Calder candidate after two games, but you can tell from watching him in such a short amount of time that he has the makings of a world class goalie. Whether he can improve and play like such consistently remains to be seen, but its nice to have a little faith in the guy between the pipes for once. Kulemin needs to be in the lineup no matter what. He is our best back-checker, and I truly believe he has the talent to be a 30-30 guy. I think he has the highest upside of any Leaf forward currently on the roster, and its a shame that Wilson rotates him and Mayers (who simply needs to leave the team). He needs to play consistently on the top two lines.

Spent three seasons in Hamilton, and I don't remember him bitching about it. His bro was a first round pick, he was a seventh rounder. Seems like someone has an unfair sense of entitlement based off of his brother. I really don't think he is talented enough to put up with this shit.

Usually you get at least one player move before they axe the coach. taking that into consideration then (and i know its early in the season) who is the first player to go? I would say Blake, but nobody wants that contract. The fact is that the Leafs have very few desirable assets because they're all overpaid or under-performing. At the deadline if the Leafs aren't in the playoff hunt look for guys like Mayers, Poni, Hagman, Exelby, Primeau and Stempniak to get traded for picks. The only guys who have solid trade value who could possibly be traded are Kaberle and White. I really hope White doesn't get moved. Regarding Burke saying he wanted to make the playoffs- From when he got hired he admitted that he was retooling the team from the get-go, and the team would be evolving. However, he claimed he would try to make the playoffs ever year because he doesn't think its fair to the fans to tank. Burke has enough job security where he could conceivably tank for two more years without putting his job in jeopardy. That just goes against his beliefs I guess.

I made it back to DC for the home opener against the Leafs. I don't think I've ever been to a game with more bandwagon fans in my life, I was pretty disappointed.

At least Darcy had himself a game.

The defense will be fine. Half of the defense on a given night are new to the team and the system. Its not a surprise that the best defensemen so far have been Kaberle, White, Finger and Schenn. Komi, Beauch and Exelby will all improve, and the unit will play better as a whole. Right now the new guys are trying to do far too much, and the forwards aren't helping out.

Allison was cut. MacDonald will be sent down. Tlusty, likely as well. Rosehill and Gunnarson will probably remain with the club for now as Mayers, Finger and Van Ryn are injured and likely destined for IR. I'm not sure who else is on that list, but the likely skaters are: Forwards- Stajan, Grabovski, Mitchell, Primeau, Wallin, Stalberg, Blake, Hagman, Stempniak, Rosehill, Orr, Kulemin, Ponikarovsky. Defense- Kabs, Komi, Beauchemin, Schenn, White, Exelby, Gunnarson. Goalie- Toskala, Gus Tomorrow. There are rumors Bozak has jumped Kulemin on the depth charts, and may start the season with the team. Stalberg has almost certainly made it. If Bozak does make it, I don't know where they play him, I'm guessing on the wing but who knows. Mitchell has been playing a lot more wing lately, so perhaps Bozak slides in 3rd line centre. I really hope Bozak doesn't jump Kulemin. In my opinion Kulemin is the superior prospect. I really like Bozak and I want him on the opening day roster, but not at the expense of Kulemin. Granted, Kulemin had a poor preseason, he got better as it went along. I liked him when he was paired with Stajan yesterday. Splitting him up from Grabs might be a positive. If Bozak does make the team I hope its at the expense of Stempniak. Bozak simply hasn't outplayed Grabs, Stajan or Mitchell, as much as Leafs fans wanted him to.

I didn't see all seven, but at least three of the first five really weren't his fault. Good passing/odd-man rushes/poor defensive play, etc. When he was being pulled for the extra attacker he was visibly pissed off. I've never seen that from him before, and am taking it as a good sign.

Rosehill and Orr would be awesome. I don't know if you can employ 2 pure fighters any more though, too many teams easily neutralize it by just not having any fighters...and then you've got two goons skating around with nothing to do really. And I haven't seen Rosehill play at all, but Orr is not a strong defensive player, and I can't imagine Rosehill is either. I'd rather have Bozak or Stralberg make the team, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Wilson made some strange comment about them having 'earned' a job, but they haven't 'stolen' one, so they're likely headed to the Marlies. Granted all I've seen of Rosehill has been this preseason, but he has been impressive. He is fast for a big guy, has pretty decent hands actually, hits real hard, and most importantly tries really hard. Its apparent Mayers doesn't want to be in Toronto, and that's fine. He needs to be waived, as he isn't helping the team as much as he could if he gave a shit. I don't view Rosehill as strictly a goon, but then again I'm basing that off of just this preseason. I also want Bozak and Stalberg to make this team, but they have to make it over guys like Kulemin, Stempniak and Mitchell. Mayers/Rosehill has zero impact on Tlusty/Bozak/Stalberg/Kadri/Hanson.

I really want Rosehill on the 4th line instead of Mayers.

If the Leafs could get a 3rd or 4th rounder for Finger right now he'd be gone. BB and RW already have the top 4 set as Kaberle-Komisarek, Beauchemin-Schenn. Exelby is most likely guaranteed a spot as he was traded for. Management likes White and have turned down trades for him in the past. Van Ryn is one of Wilson's favorites (and if he is healthy he is the best of the four). Frogren will go to the Marlies. That just leaves Finger. If they could dump his salary, it'd be helpful for next off-season. I have a feeling they'll be making a run at Savard, so Kadri can develop without a ton of pressure. The thing with Finger is I like him and I like his style of play. We just have a logjam on D, and he is the obvious candidate to go. He is overshadowed by Schenn, Komi, Beauchemin, and Exelby.

They tried to do that last year in the Coliaccavo/Steen for Stempniak trade. Didn't work out too well.

I thought the Asham hit was stupid, but it almost looked like he let up. Surely could have been a lot worse. Carcillo on the other hand is a complete plug. He was running guys all night looking for something but found no takers. Schenn handled him (although it was far from a TKO). The hit from Rogers at the end was a board, but Carcillo completely lost it. Overall the Flyers looked really dead last night. They were really sloppy and took a lot of poor penalties. If the Leafs PP wasn't atrocious, it would have been a blowout.

White would be the only affordable option (under $1 mil), but as such he has the most value. Apparently Burke turned down a 2nd rounder for him last deadline. The problem with the whole Kessel deal is that Boston and Toronto don't make good trading partners. There aren't a whole lot of realistic options there. Fingers problem is that he never really had a chance. Nobody knew who he was (myself included) when the Leafs signed him to that contract. He is a good bottom pairing guy, but paid far too much. Its funny they were praising him in that game because I think he was out there for all three goals against.

Kessel is a dynamic player, and if this had been four years ago when we still had Sundin I'd jump at the chance to get him. The thought of those two together is nuts. The problem now is that I don't know how Kessel will blend with this team. I am 100% behind throwing an offer-sheet at him, but two first and a second seem excessive to me. I don't think he'll be a franchise player. For a team with a strong, but relatively shallow and unproven prospect pool that's a lot to give up. If guys like Hayes, Stefanovic, Devane, etc all develop, the loss of those high picks becomes easier. But the Leafs have few blue chippers, and a lot of mid-range or boom or bust prospects. I hope the Leafs are able to make a trade that involves their extra parts, such as White/Van Ryn/Finger (yeah right)/ Stajan/Stempniak. Unfortunately I don't see Boston having much interest in any of those guys with maybe the exception of White and Stajan, but probably not both.

Saw the Habs one and figured might as well start one. I was fortunate enough to watch their first preseason game last night and I have a few thoughts about it. Obviously its just one preseason game and it doesn't hold a lot of weight, but there were definitely things that stood out. Stalberg- He was all over the ice. He is arguably one of the fastest Leafs, and appears to have good offensive instincts. Looks ready to at least get a tryout with the big club. Bozak- Sick goal, and like Stalberg, was noticeable the whole game. Looks like he could be the real deal. Hopefully there is a way those two can make the squad. Allison- I'm really rooting for him to prove himself, but he looked flat all game. I think a big part of that had to do with his linemates Tlusty and Kulemin also being flat for the first half. Allison can't lead a line by himself, so he can only play as well as his linemates. I hope he gets in another three preseason games, hopefully playing with guys like Blake and Stempniak to see what he can really do. Kadri- I was very skeptical of him at the draft (based on nothing other than wanting Schenn), but he impressed me last night. It was my firs time seeing him play other than Youtube clips. He won't stick with the Leafs this year, but his high skill level is obvious. Others have said he has the potential to play like Dougie, and we'd be fortunate if that came true. Hanson- The most underwhelming of our prospects. He will start with the Marlies, book it. Exelby- I thought he was possibly the biggest surprise. He had three or four great hits, but his transition game was great. Beauchemin- Our best defender last night (which he should be). Looking forward to seeing what he can do parked next to Schenn. White/Finger- Both were pretty meh. Need to step it up if they want to lock up a 5th/6th spot on the team. Toskala was good, MacDonald was decent. Looking forward to tonight, especially to see Kabs+Komi, Schenn, Grabovski, and how Kadri, Stalberg and Bozak continue.

Empire of the Sun

The Knife

New Blackberry Tour= sweet

Chiddy Bang- Kids remix.

Jan Terri.

Its Bruce Garrioch, he is an idiot.

You must have just missed the thread on correcting and criticizing grammar... Here's the short version: it's kinda a dick move.

The 705s with the white logos were the best skates ever. I'm currently in 705s with the silver logos and I swear every pair of them I've seen have been inferior to the whites.